Rodgers Brothers Inc. Purchases 20 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 842 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 60,659 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Keystone Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Smith Anglin Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $10.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $569.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,201,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,313,107. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $524.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $507.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $581.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.